The Terps jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Maryland baseball cruised past Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday, 14-3, recording its first home win under head coach Matt Swope.
The Terps took a 6-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back.
Chris Hacopian started the rally with a double that drove in his brother, Eddie. The brothers combined for four hits and two RBIs on the afternoon.
Sam Hojnar followed Hacopian’s double with one of his own, which drove in Kevin Keister.
After a sacrifice fly and with the bases loaded, freshman Brayden Martin added three more runs with a bases-clearing two-base knock.
The six-run cushion was all Maryland needed, as Ryan Van Buren was excellent in his first start of the season.
Last year, Van Buren finished with a 1-3 record and a 6.81 earned run average. On Tuesday, Van Buren gave up just one run in 5 2⁄3 innings of work, adding four strikeouts.
The Terps’ bullpen also looked sharp, highlighted by South Alabama transfer Omar Melendez’s outing, in which he threw three innings to record a save.
“Yeah, just again attacking, throwing strikes, that’s gonna be the thing for this team,” Swope said. “If we can limit the freebies and we can attack, you know, we’re gonna be good enough offensively.”
After Mount St. Mary’s got on the board, Maryland replenished its lead back to six in the middle innings, but that was nearly cut in the top of the sixth.
Mount St. Mary’s senior first baseman Shane Wockley looked to have hit a two-run homer, but it was deemed a foul ball after a discussion by the umpires.
Up 8-2 in the eighth inning, Maryland put the finishing touches on a blowout win with an additional six runs. Devin Russell’s three-run homer brought some energy to the park, and Eddie Hacopian finished the surge with an RBI single.
Maryland finished with 12 hits on the afternoon, with all but two players getting on base.
“As you look ahead to this weekend, three games in three days with three different teams, what’s going to be the message to the team in the next couple of days is preparing for this tournament.” Swope said.
Three things to know
1. The Terps got off to a hot start. Maryland scored six runs in the first inning, forcing Mount St. Mary’s starting pitcher Jakob Foster out of the game after recording just one out.
Seven Terps recorded an RBI Tuesday.
2. Van Buren impressed. Van Buren began his 2024 campaign strong. Despite not featuring in the weekend rotation, he showed his value Tuesday.
3. Russell’s big game. Russell clobbered his first home run of the season, a three-run blast, and also threw out two runners trying to steal second.